Lakefront deck and railing rehab
Homeowner, Matthew Lukens, built a second home located on Logan Martin Lake in east-central Alabama (just east of Birmingham) in 1989. His decking, overlooking the lake, was in dire need of an upgrade. The railing, made from 1 x 6 wood slats he cut down to 1 x 4 and installed in three horizontal rows, didn’t meet code. But his heart was in the right place. “I put the boards up like that so my grandchildren wouldn’t fall through,” said Matthew.
He knew he needed to replace the deck and complete a railing rehab, and so through the power of the internet, Matthew found a composite decking material he liked and Ultra-tec cable railing infill, fittings, and hardware.
“I found a YouTube video on installing Ultra-tec and thought, ‘I can do that,’” said Matthew.
Matthew installed gray composite decking, using 4 x 4 wood posts, and routed the edges and top to fit the top rail. He installed 1/8-inch stainless steel cable railing infill from Ultra-tec and used the ease of the Push-Lock® system to tension the cable. The Push-Lock fitting is swageless, meaning the cable attaches to the fitting using a locking wedge system, making on site assembly easy.
“I pre-drilled the holes for the cable connectors and stained the 4 x 4 before I put the cables through,” added Matthew.
His beautiful work came to fruition when he submitted his project to the 2021 Ultra-tec photo contest and winning the third prize of $125 gift card.
“It worked out great,” said Matthew. “It worked just like the video showed. I love how the new deck looks, and I did it all on my own.”


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